Uplink Port vs Normal Port: What Are They?

In order to understand uplink port and normal port, we’d better first know about common switch types and port types. According to the applications, the hierarchical internetworking model can be divided into core layer, distribution layer, and access layer. Correspondingly there are core switch, distribution switch, and access switch that provide different functions in a network. Based on different functions and configurations, network switch ports have two main categories: uplink port and normal port (downlink port). The uplink port on switch is usually a higher-speed port used to connect a device to other higher-speed ones in the topology or smaller local network to a larger network. While normal ports are merely a set of ports mainly used for regular data transmission, of which commonly-used ones are RJ45 port, SFP port, SFP+ port, SFP28 port, QSFP+ port, and QSFP28 port. They support fibers or network cables for network connection with different data rates and transmission distances.